Life Is Like A Hurricane
by Kamije Celeek
Summary: Based off Disney's DuckTales. Triplets Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather go on a series of adventures with Crowfeather, a reclusive trillionaire who was once a world-renowned adventurer. They might solve a mystery or rewrite history, but finding family secrets wasn't exactly part of the deal they signed up for. The world as they know it is about to be shaken up.
1. WHOO-HOO Part 1

It was a beautiful day in the city of Catburg. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and a redheaded woman was trying to get out of her houseboat in time for a job interview while chasing her nephew across the kitchen.

"Come on, guys!" she groaned.

"You can't wear a T-shirt and jeans to a job interview!" snapped Jayfeather, holding up the clothes. He opened the dishwasher to toss them inside and hit start. "How about a nice shirt and a pair of dress pants?"

"I wasn't going to wear them to the job interview! They were to change into afterwards!"

"Oh. Sorry."

"I made you a good-luck breakfast!" added Hollyleaf, holding up a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. "You can't go on an empty stomach."

"True. Wait, where are your life jackets?" Hollyleaf sighed and grabbed her life jacket, strapping it on and helping Jayfeather do the same. "Good. Now where's the babysitter…?"

She grabbed her phone off the counter and dialed the number for the babysitter.

"Hi, this is Squirrelflight. You're supposed to be babysitting my niece and nephews today?" She blinked in confusion. "New address? What new address? I didn't give you a notice. How soon can you get here?" Hollyleaf glanced at her brother with a smirk.

 _"I… don't know."_

"Crazy old bat," muttered Squirrelflight, hanging up. "What am I going to do?"

"We'll be fine on our own for a couple hours!" Hollyleaf piped up.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! Wear our lifejackets, stay on the boat, and don't let Jayfeather wander too close to the edge. Simple!"

"Oh, well… I guess it'll have to do, since it's almost—nine o'clock?!"

"You've got to get going!" gasped Jayfeather, pushing her towards where he thought the door was. Squirrelflight was wearing a blouse and a professional black skirt as she went along, trying to put on her heels. She smiled, feeling confident that today was going to go well.

She was almost on the dock before something occurred to her.

"Wait, where's Lionblaze?"

"Sleeping!" Jayfeather said just as Hollyleaf replied "Who's Lionblaze?"

Jayfeather gave his slightly-older sister a look that plainly said, 'you're an idiot and I can't believe we're related'. The boat lurched underneath them as the engine started, and Squirrelflight knew exactly where her other nephew was. She sighed and headed to the engine room, where he was kneeling beside the engine so he could hotwire it. It wasn't unusual for the triplets to try and take the boat, but they were usually a _lot_ more subtle about their attempts.

"We'll get to Cape Vulpes before anyone realizes we're gone!" he announced, turning to see his aunt tapping her foot. "Oh… Hi, Aunt Squirrelflight."

"Yeah, come on. I want all three of you in the car, now."

They obeyed and she locked up the boat.

"You were supposed to get her out by nine, _Hollyleaf_!"

"You weren't supposed to start the boat until we gave the signal, _Lionblaze_."

"We never get to do anything," Jayfeather mumbled.

"Listen, kids," Squirrelflight sighed. "I know that it's been… tough since we moved out here, but that's why I need this job. And I can't go to my interview if you three are underfoot. So… I'm calling in a favor from an old friend. His name is Crowfeather."

" _The_ Crowfeather?!" gasped Lionblaze.

"As in, richest cat-person in the _world_ , Crowfeather?!" Jayfeather added.

"He owes me a few favors."

"I heard he managed to map out the entire giants' town _on his own_!" cried Hollyleaf.

"Yeah? Well, _I_ heard he discovered Sun-Drown Island!" crowed Lionblaze.

"He traversed the mountains and befriended the Tribe of Rushing Water!" screeched Jayfeather, never one to be left out. " _That_ Crowfeather?"

Squirrelflight let out an exaggerated sigh. "Yes. _That_ Crowfeather. And he didn't do all that stuff alone. I was with him, and so were some of my friends." She twisted around to look at the three children in the backseat. "Are you sure you'll be okay hanging out with someone you've never met before? You've never been very trusting of strangers, especially Jayfeather."

"Sure, we don't, but we're going to spend the day with the richest cat-person ever! That's exciting," smirked Lionblaze. "It's worth trusting a stranger." He turned to his brother, poking him in the arm. "Right, Jayfeather?"

Jayfeather winced, and then put on a grin. "Yeah, it sure is."

* * *

"…And if we can expand our reach in the Moon Lake and Foreston region, and cut our funding to unnecessary departments…" Mudclaw was rambling again. And Crowfeather _hated_ rambling. The cat-man turned to Crowfeather with an excited expression. "Well, sir, what do you think?"

"Wow. Fantastic," Crowfeather replied. Sarcasm. Which Mudclaw didn't seem to catch. The smile didn't fade.

A cat-woman with ebony hair stood up from her chair. "So it's decided, then. We'll reconvene next week. Same time, same place. Crowfeather? Crowfeather!"

"Yes, Nightcloud?" He looked up at her.

"We'll reconvene next week, same time same place. Right?"

"Right."

The trillionaire exited the boardroom and went down to the parking garage. There, his ever-faithful yet dim-witted driver, Bumblestripe, was waiting.

"Morning, Mr. Crowfeather!" he greeted him. "How was the meeting?"

"Boring. Drive me home."

"Yes, sir!"

Bumblestripe was a lot of things, but a good driver wasn't one of them. Crowfeather knew that, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get home. As a result, he was in the backseat, reading a newspaper as Bumblestripe chatted about some report that there was something out on Sun-Drown Island. All the while, the driver was smashing into things and not paying attention to the road. That is, until he reached the mansion and slammed on the brakes.

"What the—Bumblestripe, you could've killed me!" Crowfeather snapped.

"Sorry, sir. There's an… issue." Crowfeather poked his head out the window to see Squirrelflight leaning out _her_ car window at the intercom.

"Come on, Brightheart! Let me in before—" Crowfeather honked the horn. "— _he_ shows up."

"Get out of my driveway, you deadbeat!" he called. Squirrelflight sighed and got out of the car, Crowfeather doing the same. "Squirrelflight."

"Crowfeather."

"So… still living on that boat in the marina?"

"Yep. Still a trillionaire?"

"Yep."

"So…"

"So… get out of my driveway, you deadbeat!"

"I _would_ , but it just so happens that I have a job interview!"

"So why are you standing there yelling?!"

"Because Brightheart said _you_ would watch the kids! Can you do that without losing them?!"

"Of course I can!"

"Perfect! Thank you _so much_!"

Squirrelflight was also skilled in sarcasm.

The back door of her car opened and Crowfeather felt his breath hitch. The three kids he hadn't seen in _ten years_ were now in front of him. He'd avoided them for so long, and now they were here.

"Crowfeather, this is Hollyleaf, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather. Kids, this is Crowfeather."

"Welcome to my home," Crowfeather told the kids.

"Now remember," Squirrelflight stated. "No tricks, no lies, and no trouble."

"Yes, Aunt Squirrelflight," the three agreed.

"I wasn't talking to _you_." She narrowed her eyes at Crowfeather before getting back in her car. "I'll be back for them tonight! Goodbye, my lovelies!"

The triplets waved goodbye as their aunt drove away. Crowfeather then led them to the house, where he left them outside the front door. Luckily, his one-eyed housekeeper, Brightheart, let them in. They took notice of all the décor in Crowfeather's house, including a painting of him shaking hands with a badger-woman.

" _Midnight_ ," whispered Jayfeather, straightening his glasses. He was clearly in awe of the fabled badger-woman who could talk to spirits of the dead and predict the future that Crowfeather had supposedly met on Sun-Drown Island.

"I didn't know she was so cool-looking," remarked Hollyleaf.

"Badger-people are weird," stated Lionblaze. "They're so much bigger than we are…"

"So are the giants!"

They followed Crowfeather into the dining room, where he sat down and began to read a newspaper. Brightheart brought him a bagel and set it in front of him, pushing the paper down.

" _Talk_ to them," she stated. He grumbled and put the paper back up.

Next thing he knew, he had all three surrounding him.

"So, do children still like marbles?" he asked.

"If you're Aunt Squirrelflight's friend, how come we've never met you?" inquired Hollyleaf.

"How much money do you have?" Jayfeather questioned.

"Is it hard being an adventurer?" Lionblaze wondered. "I mean, you're a has-been now…"

The next thing the triplets knew, they were being tossed into a room. Brightheart gave them a bag of marbles and a look of sympathy before locking the door of the little room.

"We're totally ditching this room, right?" Jayfeather asked his siblings.

"Yep!" Lionblaze held up the bag of marbles. "And I know _just_ how to do it."

He started whacking the doorknob with the bag until it broke off.

"Come on, guys. Let's go touch some expensive stuff."

Suddenly, a rope wrapped around Lionblaze, yanking him out of the room. Hollyleaf and Jayfeather screamed as the same thing happened to them. They had no idea what was happening. Next thing they knew, they'd been hung upside down as a single light—like an interrogation light—shone on them.

"Who sent you?!" a voice growled. "Sleekwhisker? Tigerstar? _Answer me_!"

"Aunt Squirrelflight!" wailed Hollyleaf desperately.

" _Aunt_ Squirrel—omigosh the niblings!"

The person who'd captured them clapped and light filled the room. It was a cat-girl, just a bit younger than the triplets, with long, pale gray hair and green eyes. She was smiling widely as she grabbed a pocketknife and climbed up a chair to cut the rope. The triplets hit the floor with a _thud_ , all groaning in pain.

"Who are you?" groaned Lionblaze.

"I'm Dovewing. I have _so_ many questions! Who's the oldest? What's Squirrelflight really like? Who's the evil triplet?"

"Jayfeather," Lionblaze and Hollyleaf answered in unison, pointing at the youngest. Jayfeather shrugged.

"Tell me _everything_!" She took a picture and added it to a wall that looked like it belonged to a conspiracy-theorist.

"What are you doing?" Hollyleaf inquired, interested.

"I'm documenting Crowfeather's personal life, including family and friends. And you three qualify."

"We didn't know he had a kid living here."

"My granny's the housekeeper. She's a little overprotective, so I've lived here most of my life."

"Great, so you should know what to do for fun," Jayfeather noted.

"Oh, fun? I'm the best at fun things!" She looked around and spotted a vent. Quickly, she kicked it open. "See? Fun!"

Dovewing started crawling through the vent. The triplets glanced at each other and shrugged before following the younger girl. Lionblaze took up the rear to make sure Jayfeather didn't get lost. They came over Crowfeather's office and the blonde-haired boy stopped to look down at the cat-man and his housekeeper.

"You _seriously_ don't want to see them?"

Crowfeather sighed at Brightheart's question. The scarred cat-woman was glaring at him with her one good eye and a frown.

"It's not worth the bad memories. Plus, after today, Squirrelflight's not going to let them near me again."

"You have been avoiding them for _ten years_!"

"No, I've been avoiding _her_ for ten years. That family is nothing but trouble."

Lionblaze felt his heart drop.

 _Crowfeather hates us. What did we do wrong?_

As quickly as he could, he scrambled to follow the others.

* * *

Crowfeather sighed as he leaned on his desk, facing Brightheart. She had her arms crossed and nostrils flared; he'd said the wrong thing.

" 'That family is nothing but trouble'… you're kidding, right? We _both_ married into that family, Crowfeather."

"I know." He blinked and looked at the front page of his paper. "What the-?"

"What? What is it?"

" 'New Discovery on Sun-Drown Island—Possible Ancient Society?' This is my chance!"

"Your 'chance'?"

"To prove to those stupid kids that I'm not a has-been. I'm an 'am-now'."

"That's not a concept."

"I don't care!"

"You're letting a ten-year-old dictate what you do?"

"I'm going to need a boat and a driver."

"I can drive!" Bumblestripe called.

"We're going out there and I'm going to get back in the field."

* * *

"This is the secret hall of treasures. Everything here is from Crowfeather's adventures over the years."

The triplets gazed at the sheer volume of items that were stacked floor-to-ceiling. Jayfeather cleaned the lenses of his glasses on his shirt to make sure they weren't smudged. They weren't, so there were as many things in the room as he'd thought. Hollyleaf was just as impressed. Lionblaze wasn't.

"All this stuff is fake," he snorted. "No _way_ that grump was some great adventurer."

"This is all _real_. He and your aunt and their friends went on adventures _all the time_!"

"Aunt Squirrelflight went on adventures with him? No way. She'd be just as rich, and we live on a houseboat in the Catburg Marina."

"She's one of the most daring adventurers of all time!"

"Yeah, I don't believe that," Hollyleaf spoke up, crossing her arms. "There's no way careful Aunt Squirrelflight ever did anything _daring_. She barely lets Jayfeather walk around the deck of the houseboat without somebody watching him because of his bad vision."

"Not my fault!" Jayfeather protested.

"None of this stuff is real," Lionblaze stated bluntly.

Dovewing pouted.

"Just because your aunt's careful _now_ doesn't mean she always was! She used to be reckless and she took the chances that nobody else would on their adventures. At least, according to the diaries I found."

"This is stupid," Jayfeather commented, picking up a stick that was _covered_ in scratch marks. "Why would you even make something like this?"

"That's the Stick of the Ancients!" Dovewing gasped. "It's said that the spirit of a long-dead cat-man is attached to it, only appearing to those who are worthy."

"Well, I'm not worthy."

As if to prove the poor-sighted boy wrong, the Stick glowed and mist rose. A bald spirit with blind blue eyes appeared, startling him. The children cried out in alarm and the smallest boy dropped the Stick out of fear.

"Jay's Wing, it's been a long time." The spirit shook his head. "That's not right. Jay's Wing died long ago. Ah. I see."

Lionblaze stared at him. "No, you don't."

"Lion's Roar, too? What a surprise. Wait, that isn't right either." He turned to Dovewing. "And I suppose your name isn't Dove's Wing, is it?"

"No, but you're close. It's Dovewing."

"What do you want?" Hollyleaf asked.

"He wants somebody to hold on to the Stick." All four kids turned to see Crowfeather in the doorway. "Go away, Rock."

"Ah, Crowfeather. Still hiding from reality?"

"Go back into the Stick."

"Give it to the younger boy. He is the one meant to hold it. Then I will go."

Crowfeather sighed and handed the Stick of the Ancients to Jayfeather. Rock turned back into mist and re-entered the Stick.

"What are you kids doing here?" he asked.

"We're exploring your secret museum," replied Lionblaze.

"Secret museum? This is the garage." As if to prove it, he flicked on the light. There were gardening implements and everything you'd expect to see in a garage.

"So none of this stuff is real except the Stick?"

"I didn't say that. All of it is real."

"Yeah right," scoffed Hollyleaf. "You'd never go on an adventure for real. You probably paid somebody to give you this stuff."

"You want me to prove it? Fine. We're going to Sun-Drown Island."

* * *

Meanwhile, Squirrelflight was having the worst day. She'd been late for her interview, gone to the wrong building, and then gotten to the right place only to find out the interviewer was her ex-boyfriend, Brambleclaw. Nothing about that day made her hopeful for getting the job and successfully paying for raising the triplets. At the end of the interview she leaned back in her chair hopelessly, making Brambleclaw worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Today's been terrible. And to top it off, I didn't even get the job."

"Who said you didn't?"

"Wait, what?"

"We need experienced adventurers to go on this next expedition. Particularly ones who are familiar with _Sun-Drown Island_?"

"I… thank you!"

"We're leaving in two hours. Be ready at the dock."

"I will! Thank you so much, Brambleclaw!"

"You're welcome. How are the triplets, by the way?"

"They're _amazing_. It's not easy raising them alone, though. I'll see you in two hours."

"See you."

He watched her go. He hated to admit it, but she was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. They'd broken up because she insisted on raising the triplets and he hadn't been ready to be a dad. A jerky move on his part, for sure, since she appeared to be desperate for a job. And according to her application, she still lived on the houseboat in the marina. It was his fault she was in this situation, and giving her a job was the least he could do to begin to make up for it.

She'd lost so much ten years ago and he'd only made it worse.

* * *

 **Okay, so this took two weeks to write due to time constraints, writer's block, characterization issues, and the fact that I wanted to release it after the season 2 premiere.**

 **If you haven't picked up on it yet, this is based on Disney's Ducktales. The 2017 reboot of it. I'm obviously changing some things because of characters and story. A short list of character connections/who's who:**

 **Donald—Squirrelflight**

 **Huey—Hollyleaf**

 **Dewey—Lionblaze**

 **Louie—Jayfeather**

 **Scrooge—Crowfeather**

 **Mrs. Beakley—Brightheart**

 **Webby—Dovewing**

 **Launchpad—Bumblestripe**

 **Investors—Mudclaw, Onestar, and Nightcloud**

 **As the story goes on, I'll reveal more information, but Jayfeather isn't blind in this story. Rather, he just has really bad eyesight. Him being blind served no story purpose. Also, Brambleclaw is not Glomgold. That role is being filled by Tigerstar. If you haven't watched the new Ducktales, I would seriously recommend it. It's a legitimately great series and fun as hell.**

 **So long and thanks for all the fish!**


	2. WHOO-HOO Part 2

"It will be _fine_ , Squirrelflight!"

" _Are you sure? I don't want them to get hurt."_

"Me and the kids are going to have a quiet night in. You just worry about your new job!"

"Forward! Onward to adventure! Full speed ahead!" Lionblaze crowed beside the cat-man. Crowfeather fumbled with his phone for a minute as Bumblestripe took that as the cue to hit the gas on the rented boat. He then headed below deck to find Jayfeather playing cards with Dovewing while Hollyleaf wrote in a notebook. The ornery cat-man tossed the phone to Jayfeather, who narrowly caught it.

"Talk to your aunt," he grumbled.

"Hi, Aunt Squirrelflight."

" _Hey, Jay! You're staying out of trouble, right?"_

"Yeah, we're just staying in and playing cards tonight."

" _Don't you dare do what you did last time."_

"I won't trick Lionblaze into betting his entire allowance for a year again."

" _Good. Well, remember, I love you, kiddo."_

"Yeah, love you too. Bye!" He hung up and Dovewing gave him an odd look.

"How can you just _lie_ to your aunt like that?" she asked.

"It's easier that she doesn't know we're going to a possibly dangerous location. What did you tell your granny?"

"Oh, uh… I kind of… didn't tell her anything?"

" _Dovewing_! You're going to make her worried sick!" The gray-tabby-haired cat-boy handed her the phone. "Call her right now and tell her you're staying with a friend for the night."

She hesitantly took the phone from him. "I dunno. It just seems… wrong."

"Trust me—having an untrue explanation for where you've gone is better than thinking you've been kidnapped. Lying: it's the _responsible_ thing to do."

"So, I had a few ideas for what we could do on the ride over to the island," Hollyleaf told Lionblaze as he took the seat beside her. "I have a playlist of sea shanties, and a bunch of T-shirts I made to commemorate the occasion!"

He took one look at the shirt she'd handed him and rolled his eyes, tossing it over her face. She puffed out her cheeks, offended at the action as she pulled it off her head. Bumblestripe was looking straight ahead as Crowfeather charted their course and Lionblaze stood beside him to see the route. It was a curving line that wove and twisted around various noted hazards. None of it made sense, since it had them going a long way.

Of course, Sun-Drown Island was a straight shot from Catburg if not for that.

"Why are we taking this route?" he asked Crowfeather. "Wouldn't it make more sense to go in a straight line?"

"It would, but we're going this way because it's the safest. Remember, I made this trip for the first time when I was just a little older than you and your siblings."

"Really? Who went with you?"

"Your aunt, for one. And a few friends of ours, none of whom you've probably ever met."

"Hm." Crowfeather handed Bumblestripe the map, and the driver went full-speed ahead. "All right, now! We're full-speed ahead and we're going to be at Sun-Drown Island!"

"YAY!" all four of the kids cheered.

"… in about sixteen hours!"

The cheers dropped immediately.

It was going to be a long ride.

* * *

Squirrelflight fidgeted nervously with her phone after Jayfeather hung up. The kids would be fine. After all, Brightheart was there and she wouldn't let them do anything _dangerous_. The triplets were all Squirrelflight had in her life right now. If anything happened to them, she didn't know what she'd do. For now, she'd focus on her new job and not on the triplets or her ex who had gotten a more mature version of hot—

 _Bad Squirrelflight! Bad!_

"Squirrelflight, is something wrong?"

She yelped as she looked up at her ex. His amber eyes were full of the gentle worry he'd had years ago that had made her melt—

 _You are a grown woman with three kids, not a high-schooler with a crush!_

"Nothing's wrong. It's just… ever since I took in the triplets, I haven't spent a night away from them. I have to adjust."

"I get it." They stood awkwardly for a minute before Tigerstar cleared his throat and got their attention.

"If the two of you are finished, we have business to discuss," he stated.

"Sorry, Dad," Brambleclaw mumbled, walking over and taking his place to his father's right. Hawkfrost stood to Tigerstar's left. Squirrelflight sat with three other new hires—all men with nasty-looking scars who were clearly muscle. She was the brains and she suspected she'd only been hired because it would've looked bad if Tigerstar hadn't taken a cat-woman on the expedition.

"Now, you have all been hired because you're the best of the best. Or because you have knowledge that I need. Nonetheless, this journey will be a trek through dense jungle and through an ancient temple that could very well have booby traps. Any questions?"

Darkstripe eagerly raised his hand.

"No, we will most likely not be fighting anybody on this expedition. This is just to secure our excavation site and whatever treasure we can." Darkstripe lowered his hand, his face falling at the same time. "Now, before we set out, everyone come grab your ID cards." Hawkfrost stepped forward.

"Darkstripe. Clawface. Brokentail. Squirrelflight." Hawkfrost gave the ginger-haired cat-woman an appraising look of approval before handing her the card. She noticed and suddenly remembered a second reason that she and Brambleclaw had broken up.

She didn't notice the glare that Brambleclaw shot his brother.

* * *

Lionblaze gazed around the seats to find that Bumblestripe was half asleep at the controls. He turned around to see his sister and Crowfeather down for the count, as well. Jayfeather, however, was squabbling with Dovewing over a trick he had tried to pull in a game of cards. He took the opportunity to shake things up a little, and to shorten their route to the island.

"That ought to make things easier," he chuckled, tapping Bumblestripe. The driver shot up and glanced back at the map, putting himself on the new course that had been drawn.

Almost immediately, they ran into a storm, a Kraken, and a giant squid, one right after the other. Crowfeather dried his hair and then redrew the route to the island. Lionblaze let out a nervous chuckle as the dark-haired man shot him a glare.

Nonetheless, they arrived on the Sun-Drown Island and Lionblaze stepped onto the sand. The island was every bit as beautiful as the stories had said, and he was anxious to find this ancient temple.

"Before we go anywhere, we have to talk to Midnight," Crowfeather told his companions. They nodded and Jayfeather hit Brightheart's name on the phone's contact list before handing it to Dovewing.

" _Talk_ to your granny! You got this!" She yelped as she almost dropped it before holding it to her ear.

"Hi granny I'm spending the night at a friend's house so nothing is wrong!" she squeaked quickly.

"Oh. No, you _don't_ got this."

"Unfamiliar voices," a woman called. "And Crowfeather. Come see old friend."

As if to confirm what Hollyleaf suspected, a badger-woman came out of the trees. She looked the same as she had in the portrait back at Crowfeather's mansion.

 _Midnight._

"Hello, Midnight," Crowfeather greeted her.

"Where are others? Other cat-people from other times?"

"They're not here. But we're here about the temple."

"Ah. Temple is old. Very old. Cat-people long gone build long ago, and new cat-people find. Now more come to take treasure."

"Well, I'm afraid that's why I'm here. I want to take the treasure back to Catburg and put it in a museum."

"Treasure to be respected. You respect treasure and will find easily. Others seek."

"Thank you for the blessing."

"Be careful. Young cat-people afraid."

"I'm not afraid!" Lionblaze snapped.

"Fear is good. Facing fear makes cat-boy brave. No fear makes him stupid."

Lionblaze blinked. Crowfeather waved goodbye to the badger-woman and headed towards the forest, the others not far behind him. Lionblaze was now deep in thought.

 _Facing fear makes cat-boy brave._

He'd always been the most daring of the three. Hollyleaf was too careful and Jayfeather too meticulous to take the risks that he did. He'd never been afraid to take them, either.

 _No fear makes him stupid._

Was he stupid? It didn't make sense that not being afraid made you stupid. If being fearless was stupidity, then he was truly stupid. He'd never been afraid of anything, and this temple was no exception.

But he was hesitant to vocalize this.

* * *

"Somebody's already here."

Tigerstar's voice sent shivers down Squirrelflight's spine. She could see the other boat by the recently-built dock and hoped that whoever was here was sensible enough not to go to the temple. But in the back of her mind, she knew that there weren't many other good reasons a person had for going to the island.

"I'm going ahead," she told the CEO. "I know the island, and I know where a temple might have been built."

"I'm not sending any of you anywhere alone," he snorted. "Take Brambleclaw with you. He knows this place, too."

 _Don't remind me._

"We're staying here to work out a plan. Radio us if you find it."

Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw went into the forest, the redhead taking the lead and trying to ignore her dark-haired partner. He kept up with her while keeping his distance, feeling like she deserved it if she was stuck with him. But the silence was deafening; the Squirrelflight he remembered was chatty and full of life, not quiet.

"Listen, I know you don't like this," he sighed, breaking the stillness. "But you and I are stuck with each other for now. We might as well communicate."

"Communicate? I tried to communicate with you _ten years ago_ and you dumped me. Right when I _needed_ you!"

"And it was a mistake. I should have stayed, but I was young and stupid. I wasn't ready to be a dad."

"I'm younger than you. You think _I_ was ready to be a mom?"

He opened and closed his mouth. In ten years, that hadn't crossed his mind. Squirrelflight had been adamant about taking in the triplets, which had been what tore them apart. He'd assumed, all this time, that she'd done it because she was ready to start a family and her sister was gone. Now he realized it hadn't been a choice; it was an obligation.

"Maybe if you'd stayed, I wouldn't have gone to the interview. Or if I'd had the interview, _you_ could've watched the kids while I was gone. But _no_. I had to leave them with _Crowfeather_."

" _Crowfeather_?"

"Yeah. They're just staying in and playing cards, but I've never spent the night away from them before."

"Crowfeather…"

"Yes, I left them with Crowfeather. We've established that!"

"I'm not talking about you leaving the kids with him. Who's the only other person in Catburg experienced enough with Sun-Drown Island to explore it for the temple?"

Squirrelflight furrowed her brown, then anger crossed her face.

"I'm going to slit his throat."

* * *

"Ah-choo!"

"Gesundheit!" Dovewing called. They'd almost reached the temple.

"I suddenly fear for my life," Crowfeather remarked to Bumblestripe.

"You're an experienced and well-rounded adventurer! You know what you're doing more than the rest of us."

"Accidents happen." There was a pained tone to his voice, one that made Hollyleaf raise an eyebrow in confusion.

 _Did an accident make Crowfeather quit adventuring?_

"I'm going in first!" announced Lionblaze.

"Wait—" Crowfeather began to protest, but it was too late. The golden-haired cat-boy was already sliding down the hill that led to the temple. "Dammit."

"Wait up!" called Hollyleaf. She and Jayfeather, never wanting to be left behind, slid after their brother. Crowfeather groaned, but felt a sense of nostalgia.

He could remember a cat-woman who had always been just as excited to join him in exploring long-abandoned temples and seldom-traveled places. If she had been there, she would already be inside the temple, calling for him to join her. If that had been the case, he would have slid down the hill and met her inside the halls. But she wasn't there.

 _And it's my fault._

He took a deep breath and followed the triplets down the hill, Bumblestripe and Dovewing having already joined the three. Lionblaze was standing in the entrance, watching for the others to catch up. He was joined shortly after, but he thought that he could see movement up at the top of the hill that didn't come from their group.

But he didn't care and just ran deeper inside.

* * *

"That _jerk_!"

"Squirrelflight, calm down—"

"Those kids are the most precious thing in my life and the _only_ things I have left of my sister and you're telling me to _calm down_?!"

"Crowfeather won't let them get hurt. Besides, I need to radio my father."

"Not with my babies in there."

"Squirrelflight—"

" _You_ can call him and wait out here for the others. _I'm_ going after my kids."

"I'm not letting you go in there alone. I'll radio the team and then we're going inside."

Squirrelflight nodded and let Brambleclaw make the call. As soon as he was done, she pulled him along with her down the hill and they entered the temple. It was every bit as grand as she'd suspected it would be, but she couldn't find it in her to admire anything. No, she was hellbent on finding her kids and getting them out.

Unfortunately, before they got to far inside, they found out that Tigerstar and the rest of the team had closely followed behind. Tigerstar praised Squirrelflight for finding the temple so easily, and for finding the entrance. He and the others pushed her to the side, heading straight ahead and leaving her and Brambleclaw alone again.

"Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap…" she mumbled, feeling along the walls for a switch.

"We're going to find your kids," Brambleclaw promised, copying her actions. "My father won't find them."

"If he does, I'm pushing you off the boat on the way back."

"That's fair. And I'll let you do it."

His hand went into the wall and a door opened up, leading to a hidden passageway. Squirrelflight smiled and headed down the opened hallway. Brambleclaw followed after her, not wanting to see her kids hurt any more than she did. Plus, the last time he'd seen them they hadn't even been able to sit up by themselves, and he was curious as to what they looked like now.

Then Squirrelflight slipped and fell down an incline. He followed, trying to make sure she didn't get hurt as they continued falling and ended up in some sort of inner chamber.

There, they saw Lionblaze and Crowfeather looking at a large gem.

"You _jerk_!" Squirrelflight snarled. Both turned to face her.

"Aunt Squirrelflight?!" gasped Lionblaze. "What are you doing here?"

"My new boss hired me to help him out here. Never mind me—what are _you_ doing here? And where are your brother and sister?"

"We got separated. Crowfeather and I were at the front and a trapdoor opened. They must be looking for us."

"And they didn't, but _I_ did!"

They looked to see Tigerstar, a victorious expression on his face as he ran forwards to grab the gem. As he did, the chamber rumbled and water began pouring in.

It was then Squirrelflight knew that she wasn't keeping this job.

* * *

"Stop the water!"

Brambleclaw covered a hole with his hand and a second with his foot. Squirrelflight was panicking, he could tell—she was chewing her hair. Lionblaze was clinging to a treasure chest that his aunt had shoved him onto and told him to stay on. Crowfeather was doing the same as Brambleclaw and the redhaired cat-woman.

"I _knew_ I couldn't trust you with the kids!" Squirrelflight snapped, spitting out her hair.

"This was _not_ my fault!"

"No, this is Moon River all over again! You're innocent of doing anything wrong and it's the fault of _anybody else_!"

Crowfeather's blue eyes filled with something that Lionblaze recognized as… _guilt_?

"Stop it!" he groaned at his aunt. "It wasn't Crowfeather's idea to bring us here—it was mine. I wanted him to show us what a great adventurer he was, and he was just trying to prove himself to us."

"I remember a certain red-haired annoyance doing the same thing when she was a teenager," Brambleclaw told her. She blinked and relented, but the spark of adventurous spirit that had lain dormant within her for ten years was relit.

Suddenly, a door opened and Jayfeather appeared.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" he asked his brother. It was then that he noticed Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. "Why is Aunt Squirrelflight here?"

"Long story that I don't have time to tell," she said, straightening up and tying her hair back in a ponytail. "Let's get out of here!"

The four from inside the treasure room began to swim for the door, the water draining through it. Lionblaze gave one last look to the treasure chest and kicked it over, breaking the rusted lock and revealing a glowing white stone.

" _Whoa_ ," he whispered, grabbing it. He ran out of the room after the others, only to find his sister, Dovewing, and Bumblestripe fighting a trio of men. Tigerstar was nowhere to be seen.

 _"Thank you for the help, gentlemen,"_ Tigerstar said over Brambleclaw's radio. _"I'm afraid I'll be going now. Good luck getting off the island."_

"Let's go," Crowfeather sighed. "It's not like we found anything, anyway."

"Actually…" Lionblaze held up the stone he'd found.

"Scratch that—let's get the hell back to Catburg and get this to a museum."

They all headed for the boat, Tigerstar's crew following out of fear of being stranded. The three men who'd been hired stayed out on the deck, Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw joining the others inside.

"So, Tigerstar hired you to help him on the island?" asked Hollyleaf.

"Exactly. Well, actually, Brambleclaw here hired me," she replied.

"And how does he know you?"

"We… er…"

"We used to date," Brambleclaw finished. "We broke up a long time ago. Last time I saw you three, you couldn't even sit up by yourselves. And now you're going on adventures like we did."

"I can't believe I'm meeting _the_ Squirrelflight!" squealed Dovewing, kicking her feet excitedly. "And _Brambleclaw_ , too?! This is the greatest day of my life!"

"We're not that great, kid," Squirrelflight told her. "We just got lucky a few times. Your grandmother is more awesome than we are—she survived the Catburg dog attacks. And she has an awesome story to tell because of it."

"Oh, speaking of Granny… I'm going to be in so much trouble…"

They landed at the docks, reporters eagerly talking to Tigerstar until they saw Crowfeather get off the boat with the stone. Then they all went over to him.

"Crowfeather, is this your return to the world of adventurers, and if so, will your old companions join you?" asked a reporter named Sorreltail.

"Yes," he replied. "If they'll have me. As for the Moonstone, it's going straight to the Catburg City Museum, where it will stay."

"Dovewing!" a voice called. Brightheart came down the docks, several people shrinking at the sight of her face.

"H-hi, Granny. How long did you know?"

"I knew the entire time. You didn't _honestly_ think Crowfeather wouldn't tell me he was taking my only granddaughter out on an adventure, did you?"

"Are you mad?"

"My dear, you are safer in a temple loaded with traps with Crowfeather than you'd be in a bank vault. If you have to go adventuring, then go with him."

Squirrelflight smiled.

"Crowfeather, thank you for keeping an eye on the kids," she told the cat-man. "I'm sorry for getting angry."

"It's in the past. And… I'd love to see them more, if you'll let me."

"I'll be sure to let them visit when—"

 _BOOM!_

An explosion shook the marina. Squirrelflight turned to see her houseboat on fire, and she groaned. Lionblaze had left the engine running, just like she'd always warned him not to do.

She was having a _really_ bad day…

* * *

Hollyleaf set down a box in front of a painting. Part of it was torn and folded over, obscuring the other person in the painting, but the part she could see had Crowfeather smiling. She and the others had offered to help clean up the garage a bit, and the others had already gone to settle in.

Curiosity got the better of her and she folded it back.

It was a picture painted of Crowfeather, wearing a black suit and tie, tipping a top hat. Standing next to him was a pretty young cat-woman with long, light brown hair and amber eyes, wearing a leaf-green dress that went down to her knees. The woman was holding Crowfeather's free hand, smiling just as brightly with a joy that reached her eyes.

Hollyleaf recognized those eyes. They were the same amber that Lionblaze had, and her slim frame was similar to Jayfeather's. The shape of Hollyleaf's face was the same, too. And she'd seen this woman before—in photographs shown to her by Squirrelflight of a person she'd never known.

"Mom?"

* * *

 **And the first part of the story wraps up.**

 **Now, I would like to point out that this story is not going to follow the series. That would be stupid, pointless, and redundant. Instead, I'm putting more of a focus on the Leafpool plotline (who, if you haven't guessed, is playing the role of Della). Also, her disappearance was a little more tragic, but I'll explain down the line.**

 **Next time, we'll meet a new character who I think you all know is coming!**

 **So long and thanks for all the fish!**


End file.
